Frank
Mir’s mixed martial arts career has seen its share of
adversity, some of it self-inflicted, but whenever he decides to
call it a day, he can do so knowing he left behind a legacy worth
remembering.
Currently a free agent after his contract with
Bellator
MMA expired in 2020, the 42-year-old heavyweight carries a
19-13 record that features 14 wins by knockout, technical knockout
or submission. Father Time has not treated Mir all that well, as
evidenced by the fact that he has lost four of his past five bouts.
He last competed at Bellator 231, where he laid claim to a
unanimous decision over
Roy Nelson in
the three-round main event and improved to 2-0 in his head-to-head
series with the former
International Fight League champion.
As the MMA world awaits word on Mir’s next move, here are five
things you might not know about him:
1. No one can question his athletic credentials.
Mir was a multi-sport standout at Bonanza High School in Las Vegas,
where he competed in track and field, played football and wrestled.
He went 44-1 and won a state championship as a wrestler during his
senior year and set the school record in the discus throw at 54.2
meters.
2. Two wheels made him a what-might-have-been talent.
The Las Vegas native made his
Ultimate Fighting Championship debut at the age of 22 and went
6-1 through his first seven assignments inside the Octagon—a
technical knockout loss to
Ian Freeman at
UFC 38 was the only blemish—before a motorcycle accident
interrupted his career and forced him to the sidelines for nearly
two years.
3. He belongs to an elite club.
Mir became the ninth man to capture the undisputed heavyweight
crown when he submitted
Tim Sylvia
with an armbar just 50 seconds into their UFC 48 pairing on June
19, 2004. He was later stripped of the title due to inactivity
caused by his aforementioned traffic mishap.
4. He left his imprint on the record book.
While has not fought in the UFC since 2016, Mir still ranks first
on the promotion’s all-time heavyweight list in finishes (13),
first in submission wins (eight), first in submission attempts
(21), second in appearances (27), third in wins (16), third in
submission average per 15 minutes (2.02), seventh in takedowns
landed (21), eighth in shortest average fight time (5:46) and ninth
in knockdowns landed (eight).
5. Stiff competition did not faze him.
More than one-third of Mir’s career outings have come against
former UFC,
Strikeforce
or
Pride Fighting Championships titleholders: Sylvia,
Antonio
Rodrigo Nogueira (twice),
Brock
Lesnar (twice),
Fedor
Emelianenko, Andre Arlovski,
Alistair
Overeem,
Josh Barnett,
Daniel
Cormier and
Junior dos
Santos. He has also fought 2001 K-1 World Grand Prix winner
Mark
Hunt, former
EliteXC
champion
Antonio
Silva and 2006 Pride Openweight Grand Prix winner
Mirko
Filipovic.